A group of Putnam County Conservative Party members is calling for the resignation of the party's leadership, accusing its officials of undermining Republican County Executive Kevin Byrne's reelection campaign and nearly handing control of county government to Democrats.
In a sharply worded letter dated Nov. 11, six registered Conservatives urged New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard "Jerry" Kassar to intervene and demand the resignations of Putnam Conservative Chairman William Spain, Vice Chairman James Maxwell Jr. and other members of the county party's executive committee.
The letter follows a bitter three-way race in which Byrne narrowly defeated Democrat Brett Yarris despite the Conservative Party's decision to nominate Tatiana Brahimi rather than support the Republican incumbent.
Byrne, running on the Republican and Libertarian lines, declared victory after the Nov. 3 election. Following the counting of absentee and affidavit ballots, he held a 332-vote lead over Yarris, who ran on the Democratic, Working Families and For the People lines. Brahimi received approximately 2,300 votes, more than six times Byrne's margin of victory.
The letter's authors contend that the Conservative leadership's decision to field its own candidate fractured the center-right vote and nearly cost Byrne the election.
"Their actions represent a betrayal of the trust placed in them by the rank-and-file Conservatives of this county, Republican allies, and the voters of Putnam County," the letter states.
It was signed by Art Hanley, Joseph Horan, Ryan Horan, Karl Rohde, Edward F. Todd and Mary-Ellen Cusick-Todd. Copies were sent to Congressman Mike Lawler, state Sen. Rob Rolison and Assemblyman Matt Slater.
The controversy began in March when the Putnam Conservative Party broke with its traditional practice of cross-endorsing Republican candidates and instead nominated its own chairman, William Spain, for county executive.
The party had endorsed Byrne in 2022, when he ran unopposed for his first term.
In August, the Conservative executive committee changed course again, unanimously selecting Brahimi, a Kent resident and outspoken conservative activist, to replace Spain as its candidate.
At the time, party Secretary Theresa Votano said the decision followed careful consideration and that Brahimi best represented the organization's principles. Party officials expressed confidence that she could win the election.
Byrne sharply criticized the decision, alleging that Conservative leaders were working to benefit Yarris.
He also accused Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Colamonico of offering to retain County Attorney Compton Spain, William Spain's brother, in a future Yarris administration in exchange for political assistance.
Colamonico emphatically denied the accusation, saying she had never met Compton Spain and had made no such offer. Compton Spain also denied any such arrangement.
The Nov. 11 letter revives those suspicions, alleging that Conservative leaders were motivated by personal grievances against Byrne rather than ideological differences.
The signatories also criticize Henry Lopez, whom they identify as a former Conservative executive committee member involved with Yarris' For the People party. They say Lopez has resigned but argue that other party leaders must still be held accountable.
The letter does not provide evidence establishing collusion between Conservative and Democratic leaders.
The letter also points to a court case involving campaign literature distributed by the Conservative Party that contained manipulated images of Byrne.
The mailers depicted Byrne alongside Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in scenes that did not occur.
Byrne filed a lawsuit Oct. 20, alleging the materials violated state election law governing deceptive campaign media.
In a subsequent court settlement, William Spain, representing the Conservative Party, acknowledged that the organization created materially deceptive media in violation of state election law. The party also agreed to pay Byrne's legal fees, with the amount to be determined.
The letter's authors describe the incident as an embarrassment to the party and question who financed the mailings.
They also allege that the county Conservative Party has failed to file required campaign finance disclosures with the state Board of Elections and say they believe a complaint has been submitted requesting an investigation.
Those disclosure allegations have not been independently verified.
The letter raises additional questions about William Spain's continued chairmanship while running for state Supreme Court justice and alleges that he may have established residency in Florida.
Mahopac News searched for William D. Spain Jr. in connection with Florida residency, property ownership, voter registration and professional listings and did not find a reliable, independently verifiable Florida address, property record or voter registration matching him. While that doesn't disprove the allegation, it means the claim remains unsubstantiated.
The letter characterizes those circumstances as potential legal and ethical problems, although the letter provides no documentation establishing a residency violation or showing that his dual roles were unlawful.
Beyond the county executive contest, the letter contends that the internal dispute hurt other Republican candidates supported by Conservatives, including Lawler and Rolison.
They also blame the local leadership for the Conservative ballot line dropping to Row D, below the Working Families Party, for the next four years.
The group asks Kassar to demand the resignation of the entire county executive committee, specifically naming William Spain, Maxwell and Compton Spain.
"The leadership responsible for these decisions has forfeited the confidence of the rank-and-file," the letter states.
A separate online petition launched Nov. 11 similarly calls for the leadership's removal.
The election results underscore the stakes of the dispute. Although Byrne survived the challenge, Yarris came within a few hundred votes of winning an office that Republicans have controlled for years.
Whether Brahimi's supporters would otherwise have voted for Byrne, Yarris or neither candidate cannot be determined from the results alone.
For the dissenting Conservatives, however, the narrow outcome has intensified their demand for change.
"Conservatives in Putnam County supported Kevin Byrne and expected their party to do the same," the letter concludes. "Their failure to do so has consequences. Accountability begins now."
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